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ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO, is worried that America is dropping the ball when it comes to bringing home the remains of soldiers who went missing during foreign wars.

“Although Congress has more than doubled the overall budget of the joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, known as JPAC, over the last five years, the additional funds have not yet yielded any significant increase in identifications,” McCaskill told a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight Thursday morning. Missouri’s senior senator chairs the subcommittee.

“We can and must ensure that hundreds of millions of dollars that taxpayers have earned are being spent as efficiently and responsibly as possible,” she said.

It is estimated there are still about 83,000 missing U.S. personnel, dating back to World War II.

According to McCaskill, Congress has demanded that at least 200 missing soldiers be found each year but fewer than 100 are being recovered annually.

“It is unacceptable for dysfunctional bureaucracy to impede our efforts to bring closure to the families of missing personnel,” she said.